Dingli Swallows 0
Pietà Hotspurs 1

Pietà Hotspurs put two successive defeats behind them as they beat third-bottom Dingli, now only two points above St George’s at the wrong end of the standings.

This result also means Edmond Lufi’s side are still in the promotion hunt even though leaders Rabat and second-placed Melita remain the outright favourites for the top two slots.

Pietà outplayed Dingli for most of the match and missed several opportunities to make their victory more emphatic.

In an uneventful first half, the first goalmouth threat came from Pietà’s Quilin Refalo who tested Dingli keeper Jeffrey Farrugia with a shot from outside the box that was turned away for a corner.

Dingli had a Carlos Porcari effort going wide and Pietà hit back with an Ezequiel Giaccaglia free-kick that forced Farrugia into a smart save.

Dingli’s counter-attacks were tormenting the Pietà rearguard, particularly when Chris Azzopardi had the ball at his feet.

The last action on goal before the break was Dingli’s. Leontiev Konda put Azzopardi through but Miguel Montfort raced out of his goal to halt the Dingli striker.

Pietà looked much better after the break and took the lead on 49 minutes.

Refalo darted into the Dingli half but his shot was blocked by a defender, the ball ran into the path of Vinicius Pereira dos Santos who drove the ball home.

Dingli may have drawn level soon after but Konda fumbled his chance with only Montfort to beat.

On the hour, Dos Santos again went close for Pietà from a Refalo ball and two minutes later Dos Santos, again, hit badly from an inviting position.

A Konda free-kick hit the upright but at the other end, Dos Santos should have sealed the points for Pietà only to blast straight at the goalkeeper after beating the offside trap to reach a Zach Muscat pass.

Pietà continued to hold control but were too erratic upfront, unable to rest their minds with a second goal before the final whistle.

Dingli: J. Farrugia, F. Owusu, K. Pace, A. Portelli (J. Sapiano), L. Konda, K. Formosa, E. Farrugia, C. Porcari, R. Vella, R. Briffa, C. Azzopardi.

Pietà: M. Montfort, C. Spiteri, E. Giaccaglia, Q. Refalo, T. Agius, V. Pereira Dos Santos, L. Mallia (C. Attard), C. Cassar (A. Spiteri), J. Zarate, J. Pisani (Z. Muscat), I. Grech.

Referee: Andrew James Sammut.

Best player: Quilin Refalo (Pietà Hotspurs).